As Earth Day approaches, many people are thinking about how they can be more green in their lives. Did you know that the federal government offers a variety of incentives for taxpayers to "Go Green?" In addition to funding to support green job initiatives, the federal government is also supporting taxpayer efforts to “Go Green” through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009, which increased ta

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Tax Code allows for many credits that will reduce or eliminate tax burden for taxpayers. While there are no credits for which every taxpayers is eligible, Child Tax Credit, is applicable tax credit to many filers. Child Tax Credit is a nonrefundable credit that may reduce or eliminate your tax by up to $1,000 per qualifying child. There is no limit to the number of qualifying children you may claim for child tax credit.

Retirement Savings Contributions Credit (Saver's Credit) is an allowance in tax code for individuals of up to $1,000($2,000 if filing jointly) to encourage and reward eligible taxpayers for contributing to employer-sponsored retirement plans or to an Individual Retirement Arrangement (IRA).

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) tax code allows taxpayers to take advantage of several nonrefundable tax credits i.e. if the total credits are more than your tax, the excess is not refunded to you. One of the most popular nonrefundable tax credits is Child and Dependent Care Credit. This credit allows taxpayers to deduct expenses incurred during work or looking for work to care provider for a qualifying person identified as one of the following:

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the arm of the federal government tasked with collecting taxes on ALL income earned within the United States as well as interpretation and enforcement of tax laws by any means necessary. The major medium in which the IRS interprets and levies taxes on individual income earners in the U.S. is via the Individual Income Tax Return. Persons with income earned in the U.S. are required to file an individual tax return on one of the applicable 1040 forms.

With the help of over 700 volunteers, the Atlanta Prosperity Campaign prepares federal and state income tax returns for metro-Atlantans with household incomes of $49,000 or less in 2012. We prepared 12,300 returns for more than $16 million in refunds in 2012 and 8,500 returns for more than $13 million in refunds thus far in 2013. After the completion of the return, we often do not see most of our clients until next filing season.

Along with the rise of the electronic information age, so too has their been an increase in Identity Theft costing consumers and businesses billions of dollars each year. The IRS has not been exempt as a popular target of savvy identity theft criminals. Stolen identity tax refund fraud was a $5 billion problem last year according to the U.S. Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration. Thus far in the 2013 filing season, the IRS has worked with victims to resolve over 200,000 cases.

In the IRS system, until you file a return, you exist as an individual identifiable by a unique Social Security Number (SSN) with various wage and financial documents filed with the IRS assigned to your name and SSN. Filing a return is your opportunity to provide the IRS with info to complete your life story of the tax year in question to accurately calculate your taxable income and liability.

For many people, April can be the most stressful time of the year! We are fast approaching the ever dreaded Tax Day 2013. But have no fear, we are here with the first in our blog series-12 Days of Tax Tips to get you prepared for a stress free April 15.